# Regionally speaking **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 14, 2003, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionally-speaking/219000 "2003-12-14T21:25:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionally-speaking/219000/1 "2003-12-14T21:25:41Z")
So I walk into a local restaurant and order a sub, a frappe, and coffee ice cream with jimmies. I think about getting tonic but decide not to. Can you tell where I live from that? What are your region’s terms for those items? What food/drink items or names are distinctive where you live? ---
**Author:** ![Blueapple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Blueapple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blueapple)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionally-speaking/219000/2 "2003-12-14T21:36:14Z")
Eastern Mass? ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionally-speaking/219000/3 "2003-12-14T21:47:10Z")
You got it! What would you call those items in Arlington? By any chance, are you a transplanted Baystater? ---
**Author:** ![lauramarlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a5b964/32.png) [@lauramarlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lauramarlane)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionally-speaking/219000/4 "2003-12-14T22:01:12Z")
Over here you’d be ordering a grinder, a cabinet and you could buy coffee syrup to make coffee milk at home. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionally-speaking/219000/5 "2003-12-14T22:15:50Z")
Me? I’d order a sub, a milkshake and any ice cream with sprinkles. Tonic? I don’t know, but if I wanted a non-alcholic carbonated drink, I’d order a Coke - when asked what kind, it’d be a diet coke. But, I’ve also been known to order a po’boy - but where I live now, that would just get me an odd look, so I’ve pretty much banished it from my vocabulary. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionally-speaking/219000/6 "2003-12-14T22:35:29Z")
I drink water from a bubbler from time to time. Root beer is my favorite soda water. I drink it when I eat brats. I also enjoy loosemeat sandwiches. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionally-speaking/219000/7 "2003-12-14T23:30:39Z")
Loosemeat sandwiches? Is that the same thing as pulled pork? Now, why do both of those terms sound vaguely salacious? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionally-speaking/219000/8 "2003-12-14T23:55:11Z")
I’d sound about like **Lsura**. And a barbecue sandwich would be nice, too. ---
**Author:** ![Oat1957](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Oat1957](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oat1957)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionally-speaking/219000/9 "2003-12-15T00:01:22Z")
Sub, milkshake and a ice cream with jimmies here in Md. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionally-speaking/219000/10 "2003-12-15T00:02:00Z")
I’m a hoagie gal, myself. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionally-speaking/219000/11 "2003-12-15T00:09:49Z")
Sub, milkshake and an icecream with sprinkles here in Detroit. And I’d consider ordering pop, but decide not to. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionally-speaking/219000/12 "2003-12-15T00:15:44Z")
Oh. Um, separate “icecream” into two words, if you will. I’ve been learning German and I’ve started to compound words in English without realizing it. :o ---
**Author:** ![beegirl13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/848f3c/32.png) [@beegirl13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beegirl13)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionally-speaking/219000/13 "2003-12-15T01:22:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by zweisamkeit \* > \*\*Sub, milkshake and an ice cream with sprinkles here in Detroit. And I’d consider ordering pop, but decide not to. \*\* It’s the same here in Western New York. Must be a Great Lakes thing. ---
**Author:** ![DaisyFace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@DaisyFace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaisyFace)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionally-speaking/219000/14 "2003-12-15T02:09:05Z")
I’d have a wedge (if it was hot) or a sub (if it was cold), a milkshake and ice cream with sprinkles. But my mom and I put jimmies on our Christmas cookies today cuz she’s from Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![Blueapple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Blueapple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blueapple)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionally-speaking/219000/15 "2003-12-15T05:19:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by EddyTeddyFreddy \* > \*\*You got it! What would you call those items in Arlington? > > By any chance, are you a transplanted Baystater? \*\* Sub: **sub** Frappe: **milkshake** Jimmies: **sprinkles** Tonic: **soda** And no, I’m a native of the mid-Atlantic area. The reason I got it was that I took [this](http://hcs.harvard.edu/~golder/dialect/index.html) survey a few years ago. Recently, I viewed the results with accompanying maps, and I just remembered to go back there to double check my suspicion. [What do you call the long sandwich that contains cold cuts, lettuce, and so on?](http://hcs.harvard.edu/~golder/dialect/staticmaps/q_64.html) [What do you call the drink made with milk and ice cream?](http://hcs.harvard.edu/~golder/dialect/staticmaps/q_63.html) [What is your generic term for a sweetened carbonated beverage?](http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~golder/dialect/staticmaps/q_105.html) ---
**Author:** ![Blueapple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Blueapple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blueapple)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionally-speaking/219000/16 "2003-12-15T05:39:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by EddyTeddyFreddy \* > \*\*You got it! What would you call those items in Arlington? > > By any chance, are you a transplanted Baystater? \*\* Sub: **sub** Frappe: **milkshake** Jimmies: **sprinkles** Tonic: **soda** And no, I’m a native of the mid-Atlantic area. The reason I got it was that I took [this](http://hcs.harvard.edu/~golder/dialect/index.html) survey a few years ago. Recently, I viewed the results with accompanying maps, and I just remembered to go back there to double check my suspicion. [What do you call the long sandwich that contains cold cuts, lettuce, and so on?](http://hcs.harvard.edu/~golder/dialect/staticmaps/q_64.html) [What do you call the drink made with milk and ice cream?](http://hcs.harvard.edu/~golder/dialect/staticmaps/q_63.html) [What is your generic term for a sweetened carbonated beverage?](http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~golder/dialect/staticmaps/q_105.html) ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionally-speaking/219000/17 "2003-12-15T05:50:55Z")
I’m from the Upper Hudson Valley region of New York State. I’d get a sub, a milkshake, some ice cream with sprinkles, and a soda. This is also the accepted parlance here in East Texas, except they’d ask for ass cream with sprinkles because they tawk funny. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionally-speaking/219000/18 "2003-12-15T14:26:47Z")
“Soda” and “sprinkles” are making inroads in my area, as furriners keep insisting on moving here. 😉 Don’t know why, considering our nasty winters (like the snow - sleet - rain - freezing winds of the last 24 hours), but so it is. But “frappe” is still firmly entrenched, and anyone from another part of the country asking for a milkshake will get one – but be very disappointed. Have any of you seen the PBS show “American Tongues”? It was first broadcast quite a few years ago, and I don’t know if it’s still shown now and then, or available on video. It was about all the regional varieties of English in the United States, the differences in accent and terms. Very well done and often quite amusing. It’s worth watching just to see the earnest Midwestern family trying to puzzle out the pronunciation and meaning of “schlep”. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionally-speaking/219000/19 "2003-12-15T14:58:40Z")
Err, Jimmies? Sprinkles? are they like ‘hundreds and thousands’, little coloured sugary bits? If anyone does ‘subs’ in this neck of the wood I’ve not noticed, it’d probably be called a BLT\* Baguette. A milkshake is a milkshake. A soda is called by name/brand no generic term. **Qadgop** ‘brats’ and ‘loosemeat’ wha? Distinctive fast food? fish’n’chips I guess. \*bacon lettuce tomato ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionally-speaking/219000/20 "2003-12-15T15:35:09Z")
Jimmies and sprinkles are both ‘hundreds and thousands’, little coloured sugary bits, all right. Jimmies are normally all chocolate, though. I suspect “brats” would be bratwurst, although **Qadgop** will have to confirm that. What “loosemeat” is, I’m still waiting to learn. 😃 Is Spotted Dick a UK delight? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionally-speaking/219000.md?page=2)